


You're the Life in My Veins

by GraySonOfGotham



Series: Not A Monster, Just Not Human AUs [10]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Grayson (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Addiction, Alternate Universe - Police, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Blood Drinking, But kind of cute and precious too, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Gotham City Police Department, Guilt, Jason is a bit creepy, Kidnapping, Kinda, M/M, Mentions of Death, Police Officer Dick Grayson, eventual capes, kind of twisted, vampire jason, vampire powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-07-25 00:40:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16186490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GraySonOfGotham/pseuds/GraySonOfGotham
Summary: There has been some suspicious murders in Gotham recently.Victims found with their bodies completely drained of blood. However, there are no wounds in which large amounts of blood could have exited the body, nor any signs of struggle. Their faces had expressions of euphoria immortalized on their faces. Literally immortalized. The muscles in their faces would not relax, as if frozen in time.Rumors spreading around suspect a new villain, nicknamed the Blood King. The GCPD have been working their asses off trying to find the serial killer behind the name, and the only one to catch the right trail of the Blood King is a relatively new officer named Dick Grayson.





	1. The Bloody King of Gotham City

Dick groaned softly, dragging the palms of his hands down the front of his face. He yawned and reached for the paper cup of bitter, room temperature coffee on his table. He took a sip and grimaced, tossing the empty cup into the trash.

He sighed and leaned back into his chair, frowning at the scatter of papers on his desk.

Dick had been working on the case for a few weeks now. He was one of numerous detectives working on the case. But on top of that, Dick also helped out actively on the police force on a regular basis. Yet things just were not adding up.

Gotham had no shortage of crazies, everyone knew that.

Usually, the police department left the major ones to the Batman to handle, but the small things? They were expected to handle that. And Dick was slightly annoyed that the Batman, whoever that pretentious ass is, did not trust the police department to do their job. Yes, a good portion of the police force were corrupt, but many of them worked hard to make ends meet and clean out the city the best they could.

And Dick’s current case is new. Batman had yet to show interest in this little serial killer, since he had bigger serial killers to deal with, but Dick knew it would not be long before the Bat picked up on this one too.

And Dick did not want that. He wanted to finally be able to crack a case that is not some stupid drug bust, or some kidnapping by a jealous ex-spouse.

But so far, Dick felt like he had been running in circles.

The serial killer, nicknamed the Blood King, has been taking a couple victims a week, which is actually quite often for an average serial killer, but not in Gotham. The Blood King had an interesting way of killing his victims.

So far, all the victims have been found in dark alleyways, their bodies stuffed in Dumpsters, or in the flowerbeds of a neighbor, or even in their own bedroom. In other words, not very well hidden.

There are also no signs of struggle. In all the cases, it looked like the victims had approached or been approached by the murderer willingly. After all, their faces were always contorted and frozen in euphoria, which Dick had no idea how, seeing that their bodies were completely drained of blood as well.

Even weirder, there seemed to be no wounds in which the blood could have been drained from. Nor were there any fingerprints on the victims’ bodies other than their own or people they encountered that day. But none of the five victims had the same fingerprints on them. And to add on to the creepiness of the whole case, every single one of the victims were criminals in their own ways, whether they were thieves, drug dealers, rapists or something worse.

So in the end, Dick was still at square one. He had a whole bunch of cold facts, a whole bunch of lifeless corpses, and a dead, dead end.

He sighed again. He really needed another coffee, but he really should not.

No, he needed to find another way to approach this. He sat up a little straighter as an idea struck him. Yes, he would go do a little scooping himself. Though there was absolutely no proof supporting his theory, Dick guessed that this serial killer was picking up their victims at bars or clubs.

The killer also targeted bars in the Narrows, where no one asked questions until it was way too late. It was dangerous and stupidly reckless, but Dick needed that adrenaline. Even if he found nothing, a night out will not hurt him. Beside, he would carry a gun, Taser, all those things with him, of course. He was not _that_ stupid.

Dick entered the club called _Renegade,_ and he makes his way through the tables, past the dance floor to the bar. He can feel eyes on him. He expected it.

His clothes were too clean, his eyes still bright and hopeful, and just did not have the same presence as everyone else. In other words, Dick stood out like a beacon. Fortunately, that was what he wanted.

“I’ll just take a beer,” he told the bartender.

She raised an eyebrow at him and nodded once. Dick sat down at the bar and surveyed the room.

There were a few prostitutes in the corner, chatting up some drunk men. There was a corner booth of muscled bikers, all of them glaring at Dick like he had trespassed onto their territory. Dick ignored them, hoping they would cast him off as unimportant.

Dick took his time drinking his beer, just listening to the music and watching. He did not have to wait long. Halfway through his beer, he was approached by a girl wearing a skimpy red dress.

“Hey,” she said. “This seat taken?” Dick shrugged. She sat down, slowly crossing her legs and turned towards him. “Are you new around here? Haven’t seen someone as handsome as you in here before.”

“Just passing through the city,” Dick lied. “Stopped for a drink, see the city sights. Y’know.”

“Dangerous place to be seeing the sights,” she laughed. “Gotham’s not known for tourists.”

Dick shrugged. “I don’t mind a little risk in my travels.”

“So what do you do for a living? Businessman?” she asked.

“Of sorts,” Dick lied. At least now that he was talking with the girl, the bikers had gone back to their own conversations and left him alone. Now, he just needed to get this girl to go away. He sipped his beer.

“Ooh, so hot _and_ smart.” Dick watched out of the corner of his eye as she leaned in a bit closer, her hand slipping over onto the bar and she slipped something into his beer.

“Um, thanks,” Dick said, his eyes narrowing a bit. She leaned back into her stool, smirking at him.

“Good looking guy like you must have a wife or girlfriend, right?” she asked.

He frowned a little bit, not at all sure what she was trying to get out of him. “Yeah…” he just said, trying to throw her off.

“Well, she must not be doing her job right,” she laughed. “After all, you wouldn’t be here at this bar today, if you were. Trying to forget?” she asked sympathetically. “Yeah, me too, sometimes.” She sighed loudly, waving the bartender over and ordering a drink. “See, my father was sexually abusive towards me, my sisters, and my mom. My sisters and I stuck together, but my mom turned to drinking. Wasn’t long before her daughters caught the habit too.” She pulled a face and held her up her new drink. “Cheers?”

Before Dick could shut her down, a man staggered over, falling onto the bar between Dick and the girl. She yelped in surprise.

The man raised his head, and he was clearly very drunk. He grabbed the girl’s drink and downed it. Then, he grabbed Dick’s drink and downed that too, before Dick could stop him.

He then slumped down onto the bar, groaned. He waved his hand in the air. “A… nurthu.”

The bartender came over and slammed her hand down on the bar by his head. “Hey, idiot! Get off my bar! You’re disturbing my customers, and you’re over the top drunk. Go home!”

The man groaned and pushed himself off the bar. “’Mmm gon’ talk ta… yur- yur BOSS!” he said, pointing his finger shakily at Dick. Dick leaned back, smelling the alcohol on his breath.

Then, the man turned on his heels and stumbled out of the bar. The other customers in the bar did not bat a single eyelash. The girl watched the man leave the bar, an almost worried expression on her face.

“Oh, do you think he’ll get home alright?” she asked with an almost _sweet,_ concerned tone. She was faking it.

“Probably not,” Dick said.

“I’ll go call him a cab,” she said, sliding off her seat and pulling out her phone. She flashed Dick an apologetic smile. “Nice talking, handsome!”

Dick watched her leave as well. A few seconds later, he followed. Something felt very wrong here. He clearly saw the girl slip something into his drink. And that drunk man took the drugged drink, and now the girl was going after him?

Dick growled low in his throat. If she was planning on _doing_ something, god help her. She would find herself in cuffs before the night was over.

Dick watched from a distance as the girl caught up to the drunk man, who was leaning against a wall, looking sick.

She talked to him, and he nodded. She then led him away. They slipped into an alleyway a few streets down. Dick hurried to catch up, slipping his hand into his coat to grab his gun, just in case he had to do some threatening. However, when he turned the corner, he was not expecting the scene he was met with.

The drunk man had the girl pinned to the wall, and he was kissing her neck. She looked like she was on the brink of climax, but… unnaturally pale and very limp. It was then that Dick realized that the man was not kissing her neck, but _sucking_ on it.

He gasped loudly. He did not mean to, but the pieces just clicked in his mind, as crazy as it seemed.

The drunk man dropped the girl, who collapsed onto the dirty alleyway floor, her face still contorted in pleasure.

The man turned towards Dick, his dark blue eyes flashing in the moonlight. Dick took a step back, slowly raising his gun. But deep down, he knew that his gun was no match for whatever this creature was.

Blood dropped from fanged teeth as the man stepped out into the empty moonlit street. It landed on the collar of the man’s shirt.

The man then licked his lips, erasing the ruby red liquid that coated his lips with one swipe. When he opened his mouth again, the fangs were gone, replaced by normal, human teeth. Dick’s heart was hammering loudly in his chest, and he was more than sure that this vampire man could hear it took by the way he cocked his head to the side.

Dick had made his way across the street now, and he was slowly backing into the alleyway across the street. And yet, the vampire man was still approaching.

“St-Stay away!” Dick commanded. “Or I’ll shoot.”

“Shoot away, officer,” the vampire said, opening his arms. “I can’t die.”

His nonchalant, very _not_ drunk voice chilled Dick to the bones. This vampire (vampire, Dickie? Do vampires even exist, or is one beer really too much for you?) knew that Dick was a police officer. What else did he know.

Dick’s back hit the wall, and he let out a small whimper. He was going to die tonight.

The vampire closed in on him slowly, like a cat toying with his food before striking. “Aren’t you the pretty one,” the vampire murmured. “Looks like that whore was right. But alas, she was too needy for her own good.” He snorted. “I hate it when people take advantage of others. It’s just sick.” He stepped right up into Dick’s personal space like a batter stepping up to the plate to swing.

Fuck, he was big. He blocked out the moonlight, but Dick could see that the vampire was very unfortunately beautiful. He had never seen any man as gorgeous as his would-be-murderer. What a romantic way to go.

The vampire had dark blue eyes, like a stormy sea or a clear twilight sky. His hair was deliciously rumpled, either from the dead girl’s hands all in it, or because he was acting stupidly drunk in the bar earlier, or maybe he just wore it like that.

The vampire reached out and grabbed Dick’s gun, crushing it in his hands like a piece of paper. Dick felt weak at the knees. He was not sure if it was because he was turned on (what a _horrible_ evaluation of a situation, Dick) or because he was terrified. Either way, there was not much Dick could do now.

The gun dropped to the ground between them, and the vampire smirked. “Aw, look at you. You’re about to piss your pants. Ah, I feel bad,” he sighed. “I’m not planning on killing you, officer. But, I can’t let you go either, since you just saw my little secret.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Dick blurted out, amazed that his voice still worked, though it did sound a bit pathetic and weak.

“No, that won’t do. You’re an upstanding citizen of the law. You’ll surely report this, and before long, I’ll have something more than the police onto me.” The vampire sighed. “No, sorry, officer.”

Dick whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut as the vampire raised his hand again. The hand came down onto his head, fingers curling into his hair and pulling his head backwards. Dick winced, squeezing his eyes shut more. He was going to die, he was so done for now, please let it be painless, fuck, he was so screwed.

But instead of feeling like his neck was being torn out, Dick felt lips pressing against his, _kissing_ him. The second the vampire started kissing him, Dick was filled with a sense of elation. He arched up towards the vampire, pressing harder into the kiss. His knees actually gave out under his this time, and the vampire held him up with his other hand.

However, the kiss did not trail lower towards his jugular like Dick expected it to. Instead, he felt a sharp nip at his lip. A second later, the taste of iron filled his mouth. His lower lip started tingling, going numb. Dick whined softly into the kiss.

The vampire sucked his lip into his mouth as Dick felt his consciousness slowly being tugged from him. Was he dying? He did not feel like he was dying, just being lulled into a very enticing sleep.

Dick’s eyes blinked closed, then open slowly. He stared into the vampire’s dark blue eyes, so bright yet so dark, and so very close to him.

Then, Dick let the ropes of darkness wrap him up and pull him in.


	2. Falling Faster than a Shooting Star

Dick woke up surrounded by pillows. He was literally _drowning_ in them. It made him so uncomfortably claustrophobic to see so many pillows that he sat up thrashing. Pillows tumbled off the sides of the king sized bed he was lying on and flopped onto the floor.

Even so, there had to be around ten more pillows around him.

Breathing hard, Dick looked around. He was in a bedroom. Maybe. It was a completely bare room, save for the bed. The door was closed, and the curtains on the windows were drawn. It was not at all familiar.

Dick had no idea where he was. He looked down at himself and found that he did not have a shirt on, but his pants were the jeans he wore to the bar last night.

Holy shit, the bar last night.

Memories came rising out of his foggy memory. He remembered being approached by a girl, having his drink drugged, the drunk man stumbling out of the bar with the girl following behind him. He recalled trailing after them, and catching them… but nothing after that.

Dick groaned, kicking the covers of the bed away and pushing more pillows off the bed. Who the fuck slept in a bed with twenty something pillows? Dick’s own bed had two pillows and that was more than enough for him.

He slipped out of bed, yawning and scratching his head. He had to admit though, he had a very comfortable sleep. If only he knew where the hell he was sleeping.

Dick reached for the doorknob and twisted it. It was locked. Dick twisted it harder. It still did not budge. Dick glared down at the door. It was locked… from the outside. What a strange bedroom.

Dick looked around one more time. The closet was empty. The other door led to a small bathroom with only a toilet and sink. The water in the sink only trickled, and all the cabinets were empty as well. Dick wen to the window and pulled the curtains open, hoping for some sort of clue as to where he was, and why he was _locked_ in a bedroom alone.

The scenery on the other side of the window was a fucking brick wall.

Dick growled and marched back to the locked door. He pounded on it, hard. “Hey! Let me out of here! Hey, somebody!”

There was no response. Several seconds later, Dick raised his hand to start knocking again when the door opened.

Dick paused right there, eyes wide.

The man standing on the other side of the door looked vaguely familiar, but Dick could not recall. The man had black hair and deep blue eyes. He was young, no older than Dick himself.

“Why the fuck am I locked in here?” Dick demanded, despite the fact that he was still reeling over how good-looking the man is. “Who the fuck are you?”

The man stared at him for another few seconds before a smile slowly stretched across his face. “You’re functioning properly again.”

“What?” Dick asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you were paralyzed for ten hours, so I was getting a bit worried that you would not come to.”

“Paralyzed?” Dick asked. “Wh-What are you talking about?”

The man gave Dick an odd look. “You don’t… remember anything.” He said it like a statement, not a question.

“No!”

“Huh.” The man smirked. “Well, then, I suppose I should introduce myself.” He held out his hand. “Jason.”

Dick frowned at the hand, unsure of what to do. But the man, Jason, had yet to do anything to him, so he cautiously took the hand and shook it. It was oddly cold to the touch, like the man had been sitting with his hand in a bucket of ice for hours before. Dick shivered a bit. “Dick,” he said.

Jason licked his lips. “Nice to meet you, Dick. You asked why you were locked in here, didn’t you? I can answer that.” Jason stepped forward, towards Dick. Dick stepped back cautiously.

“And?” Dick prompted.

“I brought you here. And I don’t want you to leave. It’s pretty simple, I think,” Jason said, shrugging his broad shoulders.

“So you- So you kidnapped me,” Dick said slowly. “Are you going to kill me?”

Jason gave him a wolfish grin, cocking his head to the side. “I haven’t decided yet,” he answered mysteriously. “See, there is something special about you, Dick.”

Dick shivered, not liking the way Jason spoke, like he knew something Dick did not. Dick backed up until his knees hit the back of the bed.

Jason still continued stepping forward.

“Hey- Hey, stay back!” Dick warned. “I can still hurt you!”

Jason laughed lowly. In a flash, he lunged forward and pinned Dick down onto the bed. Dick’s wrists were held tightly above his head with one hand, and Jason’s entire body crushed Dick down.

“You can try, Dickie,” Jason said softly. “But I can already tell you. You won’t do much damage.”

Dick was breathing hard now, hyperventilating. Jason took a deep breath, as if smelling Dick.

“I can sense your fear,” Jason said in that same voice. Dick had the horrible feeling that Jason could really smell his fear or something. “It smells good.” Jason grinned, and Dick nearly screamed. He had two rows of sharp fang-like teeth. “You can scream,” Jason encouraged. “Go ahead, in fact. Makes the blood flow faster,” he hissed.

Dick let out a pathetic whimper, tears springing up in his eyes. He was so fucked.

Jason lowered his head. His sharp teeth trailed down from Dick’s jaw, down his throat, right above his jugular. Dick squeezed his eyes shut and tensed, waiting for the bite.

Jason bit down slowly, and pain shot through Dick. But a second later, Dick was not really sure he felt the pain at all. He could have just imagined it. Or, it felt so good that it felt painful. Dick felt like he was floating on clouds, his muscles relaxing, his body becoming pliant under Jason.

Dick could hear breathy pants falling from his lips, and he can feel the pulsing of his blood, coursing through his entire body. He was not sure if it was flowing up towards his neck, or somewhere lower.

As Dick’s consciousness starts seeping away, Dick suddenly felt like he could breathe again. Air rushed into his lungs and he gasped, eyes snapping open and he sat up.

He was still breathing hard. Jason still leaned over him, grinning widely and licking his lips, which were stained red with blood. His pupils dilated quite a bit, the black nearly overtaking the blue.

“You taste good too,” Jason said, his voice sounding a bit hoarse.

Dick could not tear his eyes away from the blood red lips as he lifted his hand slowly to touch his neck, where Jason most _definitely_ bit down. There was nothing there.

“Wh-Wha…?” he managed to say. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness rolled over him, and he started to slump backwards.

Jason caught him and carefully lay him down back on the bed. “Shh,” Jason cooed, licking his lips one more time. When he opened his mouth again, his teeth had turned back to normal. “Just sleep, Dickie. Rest.”

At that word, Dick’s eyelids fluttered closed, unable to keep themselves up anymore.

~

Dick woke up to the smell of something delicious. Dick sat up, his head throbbing. He angrily pushed more pillows off the bed.

This time, however, Dick remembered what happened to him. He remembered Jason, the vampire that cornered him in the alley. He remembered waking up the bare room, meeting Jason again, and Jason _feeding_ from him this time. And Dick remembered that it feels _good_.

Dick massaged his temples and glanced around the room. His eyes focused in on the new addition to the room. Two straight backed chairs and a table between them. On the table, there was a tray of food, and one chair was occupied by that vampire. Dick’s breath hitched.

He drew the covers up over himself a bit more. “What do you want with me?” he asked, angry at the fact that his voice came out shaky and scared.

Jason gave him a long look. “I still haven’t decided,” he said. “Come, sit.”

Dick did not move.

Jason rolled his eyes. “I just wish to talk this time, I promise. You have only been asleep for about three hours, so I am in no hurry to replenish myself.”

Dick still made no move to go towards him.

Jason sighed heavily. “ _Come_.”

Dick felt a weird pull in his body, and he got the _strangest_ urge to listen to Jason. A moment later, he found himself sitting across from Jason. Jason gestured to the grilled cheese sandwich, fries, glass of water, and salad on the tray. Dick immediately reached for the sandwich and took a bite, chewed and swallowed. Then, Dick felt like he snapped out of a daze, blinking down at the sandwich in his hands.

That was very weird.

It was not like Jason controlled him, but more _heavily persuaded_ him to move and to eat. Dick did not like it. He set the sandwich back down.

“I would eat, if I were you,” Jason said. “You need it to get more blood.”

Dick refused to touched the sandwich again. Not until he got answers. He stared down at the tray. “What do you want with me?” he asked once more.

“Well, I’d like to keep you,” Jason said thoughtfully. “You’re… different.”

Dick dared to look up. Jason’s dark blue eyes pierced into his. “How?” Dick asked, unable to keep his inquisitive tongue silent.

“For one, your blood tastes different. _Better_ ,” Jason said. He laughed. “Maybe it’s because you’re a righteous, genuinely good person.” He tilted his head to the side. “But no one is _that_ good. Not even you, officer.”

Dick remembered that Jason only killed the bad people. While it is still morally wrong, the victims were not exactly innocent themselves. Dick felt guilty that it made him feel a bit better. “So you’re not looking to kill me,” Dick said. “And you want to keep me here as your prisoner for my blood?”

Jason shrugged. “Sounds like a good plan, officer. I can see why they sent you after me.” Dick glared at him, and Jason laughed. “You’re going to be so much fun to have around,” he said.

Dick said nothing, staring back down at his food.

“We’ve already established that I don’t plan on killing you,” Jason said. “So go ahead and eat.”

“Maybe I’d prefer death,” Dick challenged.

“Sorry, Dickie,” Jason said. “If you try to die, I’ll just turn you. Then, we’ll be side by side for all of eternity.”

A shiver ran down Dick’s spine. He stared at the sandwich a second longer and the smell of delicious melted cheese reminded him that he had not eaten in a while. He slowly picked up the sandwich and took a bite.

He continued biting and chewing, trying his best not to taste the food, even though his taste buds told him it was delicious. He finished the sandwich an started on the fries with a bit more vigor. It did unnerve him a bit that Jason just sat there and watched him eat.

At one point, Dick looked up, and of course, Jason was watching him.

“What?” he asked around a mouthful of salad.

Jason gave him a wry smile. “Just imagining what it was like to eat actual food again.”

Dick swallowed and stared down at his salad. “You can’t eat food?”

Jason shrugged. “I _can_ , but it doesn’t agree with my body. It’s like for you humans, you _can_ eat tree bark or leaves, but it would give you a hell of an indigestion. Same with me. I get sick if I eat food.” Jason sighed. “But what I wouldn’t give to know what bread tastes like again.”

Dick slowly raised his eyebrows. “How long have you been a- you’re a vampire, right?” he asked, blushing a bit.

Jason laughed, not cruelly. “I guess you can call me that. And I’ve been for… a little over a century? So I’m pretty young, considering.”

“Oh,” Dick said. He took another slow bite of his salad. “I haven’t seen other vampires in Gotham before. What are you doing here? I thought vamps were myths.”

“We are myths,” Jason said. He thoughtlessly reached out and wiped a spot of dressing from Dick’s cheek, making Dick freeze and stare at him. Jason did not notice, too lost in thinking of the past. “We keep to ourselves, mostly, but we can also blend easily into human civilizations. Just usually… not cities.” Jason pulled a face.

“So why are you in the city? Especially Gotham?”

Jason stared at him hard before sighing. “I guess I can tell you. Not like you’re going anywhere to tell anyone. I ran away from my clan. We’ve lived near Philadelphia for the past thirty some years, but they were getting too overbearing for my liking.”

“How so?” Dick asked, taking another bite of salad and a little sip of water.

Jason shrugged. “Oh, you know, they said I had potential, and tried setting me up with other vampires in hopes one of them is my true mate. Which is absolutely ridiculous because the chances that my true mate is a vampire, alive, and in the area is astronomical.”

Dick looked up to see Jason’s regretful face. “So I came out here, thought I’d spent a bit of time on my own, find out what I want. Turns out I’m not very good at keeping people alive, _so_ I just stuck with taking the already bad guys.”

“Are you… ever going to go back to your clan?” Dick asked, the slightest bit hopeful.

But Jason shook his head. “No.”

The tiny spark of hope died. Dick finished his food silently. When he was done, Jason stood, collecting the tray. He left the room without a word. Dick noticed that Jason had left the door open a tiny crack while he was in the room. So if the door closed while Jason was in here, then he would have no way out, except for breaking through the wall, and in turn, Dick could escape.

Dick formulated a plan in his head. He would leave as soon as he could, call the police, track down Jason, and make sure he does not hurt any more people.

Even though he only chose criminals. Even though he was only trying to survive. Even though he had not killed Dick yet.

Dick spent the next couple hours pacing. He thought and thought about his escape plan, what he could do. When the light outside dimmed, Jason returned with another plate of food. He set it down on the table and sat down in the seat he sat in that morning.

“I want to eat alone,” Dick announced.

“No,” Jason said. “Sit and eat.”

“No,” Dick countered. He crossed his arms and glared at Jason. “Then I won’t eat.”

Jason scoffed. “Fine, don’t eat. The only person you’re hurting is yourself.” He stayed where he was for a few seconds, glaring at Dick intently for a while. When Dick still made no move to give in, Jason huffed, then promptly left the room. He left the food there and closed the door tightly behind him.

Dick rushed over to the food, grinning widely when he found the fork. Maybe he could somehow stab Jason and run out while he was injured and Dick could get some help.

He tucked the fork under one of the pillows. Then, Dick slipped into bed and turned with his back to the door, pretending to be asleep.

About three hours later, the door opened again, and yellow light streamed into the otherwise dark room. Dick breathed deeply and steadily, like he was asleep. There was a soft sigh.

Dick listened with his eyes closed at Jason walked over to the bed. Dick could feel his presence looming over him. Cold fingers traced down his cheek. Dick struggled not to shiver.

“I know you’re awake, Dickie,” came a soft coo. “I can hear your heart beating like crazy.” Dick still did not move. There was a soft chuckle that followed. “You’re certainly interesting, aren’t you? You’ve got spirit. I can break you a million times, and you’ll probably just keep bouncing back, won’t you?”

Dick swept his arm out, his fist curled tightly around the fork. He barely got it out of the covers before Jason caught it. His eyes flashed in the darkness, his sharp teeth showing for a moment.

“But you’re just _so, so_ predictable!” Jason squeezed Dick’s wrist until he dropped the fork with a soft cry. It fell onto the cover and Jason tossed it away. His nails broke through Dick’s skin and pierced the veins underneath, drawing blood.

Dick watched in horror as Jason released his wrist a bit and leaned in, licking up the drops of blood that welled up. Jason smirked at Dick and kept eye contact the entire time, and fuck, that was hot. He whimpered, unable to look away.

Jason laughed again. “You’re turned on by this or something? You’re so weird, Dickie.” He let Dick’s wrist drop back onto the bed. “What? Cat’s got your tongue?” Jason’s own tongue swept out and flicked over his lips quickly. The sharp fangs disappeared. Dick’s eyes were still glued to his mouth.

Jason rolled his eyes. “I didn’t even _use_ my paralysis venom, and you’re acting like I doped you up on it or something.” He watched Dick for a second longer before sighing. “You wanna stare at me all night, fine by me.” He suddenly pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it away. Dick gulped audibly. Jason was _really, really_ good looking, and it was stronger than any paralysis venom.

Jason climbed onto the bed, over Dick and jumped under the covers. “Stop throwing my pillows off the bed,” he chided gently before hooking an arm around Dick’s waist. Dick flinched at the contact.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Dick breathed out, his voice shaking, but at least it was working again.

“Taking a nap,” Jason said. “And just because the best bed in the house is in your room, that doesn’t mean we can’t share.”

Dick swallowed hard. He tried his best to ignore how cold Jason’s hands were around his waist. “Do you always sleep with your food? Not- Not in that way, I meant-”

Jason laughed. He leaned in, and Dick could feel Jason’s breath on the back of his neck. “Only the pretty and tasty officers,” Jason whispered. “Turn over, Dickie.”

Dick found himself rolling over slowly until he was face to face with Jason, a hairsbreadth away. He was even better looking up close. There were a sprinkle of light freckles by his nose and right under his eyes. His eyes were deep, dark, but _calming_. Dick could stare into them for all of eternity, and he would be content and completely mesmerized.

Jason snorted and smiled. “You really are strange. Want to tell me what you’re staring at?”

Dick’s mouth felt dry. He should not be indulging his sexual fantasies at the moment, nor should he be having this conversation with his kidnapper, and he definitely should not be doing this in _bed_ with him.

“Your eyes,” Dick murmured, however. He unconsciously reached up to brush a strand of hair out of Jason’s face, but his eyes caught on the stream of blood that ran down his arm. He blinked at it, as if noticing for the first time that he was bleeding.

“Oops,” Jason said. He leaned forward and licked up Dick’s arm. Dick shivered at the feeling of Jason’s wet tongue trailing up his arm, leaving a trail of cold wetness. Jason sucked lightly at the wounds and when he pulled away, it had healed, leaving only glistening saliva. “You still taste delicious,” he purred.

Dick frowned the slightest bit, as if suddenly comprehending how odd that was. “How so? Doesn’t my blood taste the same as everyone else?”

“Of course not!” Jason said. “Blood tastes like, well, blood. It’s gross, but you…” he smiled again. “I don’t even know how to describe it. You taste _good_.”

“Like… sweet?” Dick asked.

Jason shook his head. “It’s not really a _flavor_. It’s more like you taste… satisfying. I don’t- ugh. I can’t exactly compare it to anything _human_ , um, okay- think about it this way. You know what you smell something _really_ good, and it just smells satisfying?”

Dick nodded solemnly, his eyes still wide. He was vaguely comprehending what Jason was saying. Something about food smelling satisfying. All Dick really knew was that he was looking at something really satisfying.

“Well, it’s like that! But… tasting really satisfying.” Jason said. He blinked at Dick, sighing heavily when he saw no signs of understanding. “You just… don’t taste like iron and platelets.”

“Okay,” Dick said. He continued to stare at Jason. His skin looked so perfect. Dick really just wanted to stroke Jason’s skin. Then, Jason’s words seemed to finally resonate. “You know what platelets taste like?”

“Not individually, but I imagine it doesn’t taste very good,” Jason said, wrinkling his nose.

They lapsed into silence after that, just staring at each other. Dick had no idea what Jason was thinking, and he was torn between being self-conscious and focusing all his attention on every single detail of Jason’s face. A being, human or not, should not be this beautiful.

Dick was also hyperaware of the fact that each time he took a breath, his chest would rise and brush against Jason’s just the tiniest bit. And the fact that Jason was actually not wearing a shirt did not help at all.

“You’re staring again,” Jason murmured.

Dick tried to snap himself out of it, but he was only half successful. “I wasn’t _staring_ ,” he groused back. He managed to avert his eyes, staring at the base of Jason’s neck and his collarbones instead. “I just-” He swallowed hard and screwed his eyes shut. “Shut up.”

Jason let out a low chuckle. “You can sleep,” he said softly.

“Are _you_ going to sleep? Because you invaded my space and took over my bed while I was _trying_ to sleep in the first place,” Dick grumbled. He moved his leg, and it bumped against Jason’s. He froze and started to pull back, but then Jason’s leg hooked around his. Dick nearly forgot to breathe.

“I don’t technically sleep,” Jason continued in a gentle voice, like he was not wrapped around Dick like a clingy koala bear. “I just rest my eyes and recharge, I guess is one way to put it. It’s kind of like sleeping, but I’m still awake.”

“Oh,” Dick squeaked out, still way too occupied by the face that his own leg was sandwiched between Jason’s.

They were silent for a long time once more, and Dick still remained wide awake. His chance of escape was gone now, seeing that there was no way he was getting away from Jason without waking him up.

“Can’t go to sleep?” Jason asked a while later. “I can hear your heart beating. Too quickly for sleep, Dickie. Need some help?”

“Help?” Dick rasped.

“Yeah, I could… make you tired.”

“Wh-What?!” Dick stiffened, and the rush of blood both up and down mortified him. He was pretty thoroughly convinced Jason could hear him getting hard.

“Just… relax,” Jason said, sounding a bit amused. “It won’t hurt,” he promised. He ran a hand through Dick’s hair, brushing it back. Then, Dick felt the gentle brush of Jason’s lips on his forehead. A heavy fog descended over Dick’s mind. His eyes started sliding shut.

Jason continued to play with Dick’s hair, as Dick went lax in his arms. Dick became less and less aware of Jason touching him all over, and more focused on sinking deeper into the soft darkness brought on by whatever Jason did.

“Just sleep, Dickie. I’ll be right here.”

~

“Good morning, Dickie!”

Dick yawned and rolled over, stretching and pushing more pillows off of the bed. He heard a light scoff and a second later, a pillow smacked him in the face.

“Stop throwing my pillows on the ground!”

Dick cracked his eyes open a tiny bit. He saw Jason standing over him, wearing a frilly pink apron, three other pillows tucked under his arm.

Dick smiled smugly. “You’ve got too many damn pillows, Jason.”

Jason did not respond. He just threw the pillows back onto the bed. “You want to get up and eat breakfast with me today? You didn’t eat last night.”

Dick stretched harder, catching a pillow before it fell. He then forced himself to sit up. He felt _really_ good and well-rested.

“Smells good,” Dick said, scratching his head. “What is it? Waffles?”

“Yeah. Chocolate waffles,” Jason said, taking a seat by the small table.

Dick slid out of bed, his eyes darting towards the slightly open door, a few paces away. No, he was too disoriented right now to make a run for it. He walked to the table instead, sitting down across from Jason.

He made the mistake of looking up. The vampire was sitting there, staring at Dick, a hopeful smile on his face.

“Try it,” Jason urged. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to try out my cooking skills.”

Dick swallowed. His throat was very dry. He quickly took a sip of his orange juice first and looked away from Jason’s face. “Why didn’t you, like start your own restaurant or something?” he asked. “And you could make money and… buy blood. Instead of… you know, killing people,” he said, picking up the fork and knife, twirling them in his hands, nervously.

Jason let out a thoughtful hum. “I’ve never thought about it that way before. Wouldn’t it be suspicious if I constantly bought blood?”

Dick picked up the small pitcher of warm syrup and drizzled it over his waffles. “Well, have you ever tried drinking animal blood?” He glanced up a little bit, but did not look directly at Jason’s face. He shoved a bite of waffle into his mouth. It tasted as good as it smelled.

“My body rejects that as well,” Jason said with a grimace. “Not to mention, it tastes even worse than human blood.”

“Don’t you have that- that thing where you could make people forget that you took their blood?” Dick asked, his eyes widening a bit. “Maybe you could just take _some_ blood, enough for yourself without killing anybody, and make them forget!”

“Again, I don’t have much self-control, Dickie,” Jason said. “If I didn’t like your blood so damn much, I probably would not have kept you alive this long.”

“But you _could_ , right?” Dick asked, suddenly excited.

Jason frowned. “I mean, I _suppose_.”

Dick grinned widely. “That’s- That’s great! I mean, you can just do it that way! Then the GCPD won’t have to worry about some serial killer, and you can fly completely under the radar!”

“You think they’ll just let it go, even without finding anyone?” Jason asked dubiously.

Dick rolled his eyes, unable to keep his excitement back. “Duh! It’s Gotham! It won’t be long before another criminal is going to rise up and soon you’ll be no more than a file in the back of the cabinets!” He gasped. “I could totally lead the GCPD off your trail too! They’ll never know any better, and-” He cut himself off.

Dick’s smile slowly died. His eyes dropped again, and he slouched in his chair.

Jason said nothing. Instead, he said, “It was a good idea, Dickie, but I’m afraid I can’t let you go,” he said softly.

“Because you’re afraid I’d actually go back and lead the GCPD to your doorstep,” Dick said miserably. He sighed. “Yeah.”

Jason winced silently. “That and you’re too precious to pass up on like that. I don’t know what it is about you, but you’re special, Dick. I can’t just let you go so easily like that. If another vampire finds you-” Jason’s mouth clamped together tightly.

“What?” Dick asked, raising his head a slight bit. “You think another vampire could find me?”

Jason’s jaw clenched. “I-” He frowned again. “They… could,” Jason said. “My- My old clan might come looking for me. I’m pretty sure I hid my trail pretty well, but I’m not completely invisible.”

“And you think they’ll come and find me here,” Dick said. He cocked his head to the side.

“It’s not _just_ that,” Jason said tightly. His hands curled and uncurled in his lap. “If- If they do come to look for me, it won’t be hard for them to overpower me. Especially if there are several of them,” he said. “Dick, you’re- you’re not a bad person,” he whispered. “You don’t deserve to be hurt. If they find you… they’ll hurt you. They might even _kill_ you,” he choked out.

Dick’s eyes were wide. He was not surprised by the fact that Jason’s old clan would be out for blood, in both senses, but because of the amount of emotion in Jason’s voice and the pain in his eyes.

Dick did not know what to say. He opened and closed his mouth a few times. “I- Jason…”

Jason turned his head towards the far wall. “They’re dangerous and ruthless,” he said with a quiet whisper. “I just hope… I hope they don’t come. I don’t think I can protect you from all of them.”

Dick bit his lower lip, staring at his plate. “You’re not-  Jason, you’re not a bad person, either, you know.”

“I’ve killed people,” Jason said dully. “You said it yourself. I’ve gave up justifying myself long ago. But Dick, you’re pure, clean. Your blood is a very clear testimony of that.” His lip curled in disgust. “And my old clan will not be merciful. They love playing with their food before eating it in _sick, twisted ways_ , and-” Jason gasped out as Dick reached out and placed a hand on top of his clenched fist. He turned back towards Dick.

“Jay,” Dick said softly. “Hey. You okay?”

“You- You called me Jason. A few times now,” Jason said.

“Yeah, I guess I have,” Dick said. He gave Jason a hesitant smile. “I think I’ve finally come to the realization that you’re not actually bad.”

“I-”

“I know you’ve done things that are morally wrong, but… you’re better than a lot of people. You’re better than a good majority of Gotham, Jay. Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Dick said.

“I _kidnapped_ you, in case you’re forgetting,” Jason choked out.

Dick grimaced. “I’m aware of that,” he said slowly. “And I wish you weren’t, but it could be a lot worse, couldn’t it? I don’t think I’ll ever have such a considerate kidnapper ever again.”

Jason snorted, rolling his eyes. “You’re crazy, Dick,” he said. He rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Thanks.”

Dick smiled a little wider and leaned back again. He picked up his eating utensils and started working on his chocolate waffles once more.

“So you like cooking?” Dick asked. “Because this is really good stuff. Did I already tell you to start a restaurant? You could do really well, seriously.”

~

Jason spent the entire day with Dick this time.

After breakfast, Jason brought in an armload of his favorite books, none of which Dick has read, much to Jason’s dismay. They spent the morning sprawled on the ground, reading. Well, Jason was reading. Dick was lying on his stomach, flipping through the pages, feeling the well-thumbed pages. It was obviously loved and cared for.

He also spent a lot of his time staring at Jason from over the top of his book.

Jason sat with his back leaning against the bed, his legs kicked out in front of him. Dick liked watching Jason’s facial expressions change as he read: happy, outraged, stressed, and relieved. A couple times, Jason glanced up to see Dick watching him.

He would raise an eyebrow, and Dick would quickly look back down at his book. He would hear Jason’s soft laugh, and Dick’s face would heat up.

Jason let Dick alone for an hour to make lunch. He brought Dick a juicy beef burger. They ate on the floor. Jason had offered to read aloud to Dick while he ate. He picked up Dick’s book, starting from where Dick “left off”.

Dick had no idea what the story was about, but he loved hearing the words just roll from Jason’s mouth. Jason loved adding a dramatic flair to the narration, and he did voices for all the characters. After Dick finished his burger, Jason reached over with the napkin and wiped at Dick’s chin.

“You missed a spot,” he whispered with a wink.

 Dick just stared at him, his heart beating crazily in his chest. Somewhere in the back of his head, Dick knew something was very, very wrong. He knew something was happening, something that definitely should not be happening with his kidnapper of all people.

But the swelling happiness forced those thoughts to shut up, and after lunch, Dick found himself curled up by Jason’s side, listening to him read.

He had no idea how he got there, but one of Jason’s arms was tucked around him, only moving to flip the pages. Dick listened to the calming bass of Jason’s voice, and at some point, let his eyes slide shut.

Dick woke up hours later, to Jason gently shaking his shoulder. “Hey, Dickie,” Jason whispered. “Do you want anything to eat for dinner?”

Dick groaned and rolled over, rubbing his eyes. It was dark outside now. “S’it that time already?” he asked.

Jason laughed softly. “Afraid so.”

“’m not hungry though,” Dick said. “You’re going to make me fat with all these foods, Jay.” He gave Jason a lazy smile. “Come sleep.” He lifted the edge of the covers and scooted over a bit.

Jason hesitated, staring at Dick. Dick could see his reluctance. Dick suddenly lost his confidence and started to let his arm drop. But Jason sat down and pulled his socks off. He threw his sweater away as well, and Dick marveled the muscular arms and the toned back that was revealed. Jason was only wearing a thin black tank top.

He left his sweatpants on, and slid under the covers, turning to face Dick. His hand rested gently on Dick’s hip.

“Is this okay?” Jason asked.

Dick nodded. “Yeah,” he said, his voice cracking the slightest bit. His heart was beating like crazy once more, and he knew that Jason could hear it, but he hoped Jason would not bring it up.

Dick felt Jason’s other hand grab his, and their fingers threaded together. It was getting hard to breathe. Dick glanced up, meeting Jason’s deep blue eyes. Once more, Dick was completely blown away by Jason’s beauty.

“You’re so beautiful.”

Dick was brought out of his thoughts by the sudden break of the silence. He suddenly realized it was not him that said those words aloud. _Jason_ said it.

“Me?” Dick asked.

Jason smiled. “Yeah, you.”

“I-” Dick said, flabbergasted. “Are you kidding me?” he blurted out. “Have you seen _yourself_?”

Jason snorted softly. He gave Dick’s hand a squeeze. “It’s the vampire mutation,” he said. “Makes me look prettier than I am.”

Dick shook his head. “No, it’s _you_.”

Jason kept smiling, but he also rolled his eyes. “No one believes me, but okay, whatever you want to believe, Dickie.”

“I’m serious,” Dick said. “You’re so beautiful, I look at you, and I- I just-” He laughed softly, cutting himself off. “I forget how to talk, I forget how to breathe, I just forget everything.”

“You’re so weird, Dickie,” Jason said fondly. He spontaneously leaned over and pressed a kiss to Dick’s forehead, but he did not bother pulling back much, so they were pressed together even more. Dick felt a rush of happiness as he pressed his face into Jason’s cooler neck. It felt weird that Jason gave off no body heat, but Dick never felt cold snuggling up against him.

They lay there for a while, neither of them speaking. Dick could not keep a smile from stretched onto his lips. He really should not be enjoying his kidnapping this much. Dick’s heart thumped contently in response.

After a few more seconds of silence, Dick asked, “Can you die?”

“Already looking for ways to kill me, Dickie?” Jason snorted quietly.

Dick’s smile turned into a frown. He started to pull back from Jason’s embrace.

“Yes, I can die. Die again,” Jason clarified, keeping Dick pulled close. “It’s hard as fuck to kill me, but not impossible. Say, if someone shot me through the heart and I was left to die, assuming I could not get help, or get to a source of blood, then I could potentially bleed out and die. Or if get burned at the stake, like witches. Hm, falling from a really high building may do it, but I’ve never really tried. Oh, and if my true mate dies after we bond.”

“You can die if your mate dies?” Dick asked. “That’s not fair to you.”

“Well, if they were really my true mate, their death would quite literally kill me. According to rumors, your mate’s death feels like your heart physically being ripped out of your chest. Then, you slowly suffocate in your own blood, so I guess the metaphor is that you just can’t live without your true mate. However, most of us don’t wait until our mates are dead. The heart-ripping thing only kicks in after a few days, after the initial shock wears off. So most vampires just kill themselves to save themselves the pain and grief.”

Dick’s mouth opened and closed a couple times as he tried to find the words. “Wow,” he finally said. “That’s… a huge commitment then. True mates.”

“Well, there are benefits to true mates too,” Jason explained, his arms wrapping tighter around Dick. “There’s an empathetic link between them, and they can transfer powers to each other if the situation is dire enough. Also, just being with your true mate is very fulfilling. Vampires drink little to no blood at all around their true mates. They just rely on their mates for energy, or if they’re human, blood.”

“So do you want a true mate?” Dick asked. “Seeing that there are pros and cons, I could see you choosing either.”

Jason nodded, burying his head deeper into Dick’s shoulder. “So much,” he murmured. “I’ve had long term flings back in the days with vampires, humans, and other supernatural creatures. They never turned out, but they were fun while they lasted,” he said. “It does get lonely all on my own. I don’t think vampires are supposed to be lone creatures of the night like people make them out to be.”

Dick was silent for a moment, staring at Jason’s skin, tinged a slight blue from the dim moonlight. He felt a small twinge in his heart. “How do you know if- if someone is your true mate?” His voice cracked a little bit in the middle of the question.

“I don’t,” Jason said. “There’s no true, reliable confirmation until they die. I just have to… believe they are, I guess.”

“Oh,” Dick said softly. He squeezed his eyes shut and curled up a little tighter against Jason. “I hope you find them someday,” he whispered.

Jason hummed tiredly. “Me, too.”

~

The next morning Dick woke up, and Jason was just coming in with a tray of food. Dick gave him a tired smile.

“What’s that?” he asked, stretching and nodding at the tray Jason carried.

“French toast,” Jason said. “I’ve never made it before, so tell me what you think.”

Dick sat up and let the covers pool around his waist. Jason placed the tray on the bed beside him and sat down at the other end. Dick crawled across the large bed, spitefully kicking off a few pillows and giving Jason a wicked grin, but being mindful of the tray and settled himself between Jason’s legs, leaning back against his chest.

He pulled the tray onto his lap without a word and grabbed the fork and knife. Dick was halfway through his breakfast when realization hit him.

What the hell was he _doing_? He was currently eating breakfast in bed with his vampire kidnapper, who had his arms around Dick and his chin on Dick’s shoulder like they were some newlywed couple. Not only that, but they slept in the same bed together the past two nights, they _cuddled_ , they talked about their lives, and Dick has known Jason for a whopping two days!

Dick bit into the strawberry on his fork slowly, letting the sweet and sour flavor burst into his mouth. Dick was suddenly hyper aware of Jason’s nose nuzzling against his jaw, his hands on Dick’s hips, his legs tangled with Dick’s own. It felt too intimate.

But at the same time, Dick felt _safe_ with Jason. Since yesterday morning, Dick had felt extremely comfortable with Jason’s presence, which should not be the case, seeing that he was kidnapped and Jason was obsessed with his blood. Dick had not even thought about work or getting back to his life. And every time Dick thought about Jason, he found feel a gush of warmth, a small smile curling onto his lips, and he just wanted to curl up against the man like he was all Dick needed to survive.

“Something wrong?” Jason asked quietly.

“No,” Dick said, snapping out of his thoughts. “I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

Dick cut another piece off his French toast. “How often do you have to eat?”

Jason pulled away from his neck. “I wasn’t going to bite you, if that was what you were worried about,” he said, sounding a bit offended.

“No, no,” Dick said quickly. “I was just wondering.”

“Once every two or three days. But it depends on how much energy I spend or if I got hurt or not,” Jason said. “So if you _are_ wondering, I could probably last another week without eating as of right now. But I usually won’t push myself to that limit,” Jason said.

“Oh,” Dick said. “So you don’t have to drink my blood?”

“You can finish first,” Jason said. “After breakfast.” He nipped gently at Dick’s neck, at a particularly ticklish spot.

Dick jerked and giggled, nearly knocking his juice over. “Jason!”

“Sorry,” Jason said, smiling. He pressed a soft kiss to the spot and moved his head back to just resting on Dick’s shoulder.

Dick finished the delicious breakfast and waited patiently, reading the book Jason brought in yesterday, while Jason washed the dishes.

He came back fifteen minutes later, and Dick tossed the book aside and climbed into the center of the bed, sitting with his legs crossed.

“You took your time,” Dick said with a smile. Then, he noticed Jason’s frowned. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Jason walked over silently. He sat down at the edge of the bed, still frowning. He stared at the ground for a long time.

“Jason?” Dick asked, a touch of worry in his voice. He reached forward and touched Jason’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Someone came to the door looking for you,” Jason said.

Dick’s blood ran cold. “What?” he whispered. “Someone- Someone knows I’m here? Jason, I swear I did not tell anybody, I-” He quickly backed away. Then, he stopped, when he saw the hurt in Jason’s eyes.

Jason looked away quickly. “I wasn’t going to _hurt_ you,” he said, his voice pained. “And it was just a police officer going from door to door asking if people had seen you. They’ve been searching the nearby area since someone saw you headed in this general direction after leaving the bar.”

“Oh,” Dick said. He wrung at his hands. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t think you’d hurt me. I know you wouldn’t.”

“You don’t know that,” Jason said, a harder edge to his voice this time. “I could.”

“But you won’t,” Dick said. “I know you won’t.”

Jason just shook his head. He sucked in a deep breath. “Dick. If- If I let you go… could you really throw the police off my trail?” Jason looked up, his face unreadable, but it was something painful.

Dick nodded. “Of course,” he said. “I promise.”

“And… would it be too much to ask for you to come back?” Jason whispered, his voice tight and forced. “I won’t- I won’t lock you in this room anymore, I promise.”

Dick winced silently. “I can’t come back immediately,” he said. “It might take me a week or a bit more to get them off your trail successfully. I can’t come back here while I’m doing that. But afterwards, I _will_ come back, Jay. I promise you that.”

Jason swallowed and nodded, not looking Dick in the eyes. “Okay.”

“But you have to help me out too. _No killing_ ,” Dick said firmly. “And if you’re going to feed, try to go a little further from your house, okay? Practice some self-control.”

Jason nodded, more firmly. “Okay, I can- I can do that,” he said.

Dick reached over and grabbed Jason’s hand. “Hey, Jay. I’ll be back before you know it. Trust me. I’m not going to abandon my friend.”

Jason finally looked up at Dick. His eyes darted over Dick’s face, searching for something, or just looking at everything. “Yeah?” he asked, his voice cracking.

“I swear, Jason,” Dick breathed out. “I will be back, and I’ll get the police of your back.”

Jason squeezed his eyes together tightly. Then, he took a shaky breath, and he nodded. “Okay,” he whispered. “Okay. Tonight.”


	3. The True Children of the Darkness

“Do you want anything to eat before you go?” Jason asked.

“No, I’m fine,” Dick said. He adjusted his clothes, pulling at his jacket nervously. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, facing Jason. “Okay, go.”

“Are you sure?” Jason asked. “It’s gonna hurt. A lot.”

Dick opened his eyes again and gave Jason a glare. “I’m sure you can pull your punch as much as you need to after a century’s practice with inhuman strength, Jay.”

Jason gave him an apologetic smile. “Yeah, but… it’s still going to hurt.”

“You’re about to give me a black eye, of course it’s going to hurt, you idiot. Just hit me already,” Dick snapped, closing his eyes again. He waited a few seconds, but Jason did not move. Dick huffed. “Seriously, it’s _fine_. I’ve had worse before, I promise.”

“I just-”

“That’s only the _first_ bruise, Jason. Get on with it already!”

“Okay, okay,” Jason breathed. “Close your eyes. I’ll count to three, okay?”

Dick closed his eyes and tried his best to relax.

“One, two-” Jason punched him.

Dick groaned, taking a step back. “You didn’t even make it to three!” he yelled.

“It’s worse when you expect it,” Jason protested. “Move your hand, let me see.”

Dick dropped his hand from his eye.

Jason winced silently, peering at his face. “Sorry,” he said quietly. “It’s kind of nasty. Wouldn’t it have been easier if we just used makeup?”

“They’ll be giving me a health checkup for sure. I can’t exactly injuries, you know. Now, c’mon.” Dick held out his arm.

Jason slowly reached out and wrapped his hand around Dick’s wrist. “I don’t feel good about this,” Jason said. “You could just say you got lost or blacked out for a few days!”

Dick glared at Jason. “No one’s going to believe that. Hurry up.”

Jason sighed and started tightening his grip. He squeezed tighter and tighter. Dick winced, and a few seconds later, Jason let go. Dick inspected the white fingerprints that were quickly fading to red. It would surely bruise as well.

“Okay, last one,” Dick said, taking one last deep breath. He stuck out his other arm. “Make it fast.”

Jason let out a weak groan. “I don’t like broken bones, Dickie.”

“You’re not _breaking_ my arm,” Dick hissed. “Just dislocate my shoulder. It’ll be easy to pop back in later.”

“I’m still not comfortable-”

“You’ve sucked people dry into human husks and you’re not comfortable popping my shoulder out of its socket?” Dick asked. “You’re already two-thirds done with ‘beating me up’, so you might as well finish it up.”

Jason gave Dick a pleading stare, but Dick just shot him another glare.

“Okay, fine,” Jason said with a shaky breath. He put his hands on Dick’s arm. “I’m sorry, Dickie,” he said. Then, he gave Dick’s arm a quick twist, and he heard a loud popping sound. Dick cried out, but he quickly muffled it. Jason heard it, however. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, are you okay? Dick?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Dick growled, straightening. His shoulder throbbed. He glanced at it. It was obviously distended. “Oh, fuck. Okay, yeah, I’m good. Alright. Time to get this show on the road. How’s my eye?”

Jason touched it gently. “It’s swelling. It’ll probably be that sickly green in a couple hours.”

“Okay, good,” Dick breathed. “I’ll just say I got these while escaping.”

“You’re really leaving?” Jason asked.

“I promise to come back, Jay,” Dick reassured. He gave Jason a small smile. “You trust me?”

Jason inhaled sharply. An unreadable expression crossed his face. Then, he smiled weakly. “Yeah. For some reason, I do.”

“Good,” Dick said. He laughed softly. “I trust you too. Be good, yeah?” he said.

Jason nodded.

Dick reached up and cupped Jason’s cheek. Jason’s cheek was cold under his hand, a bit a bit warmer than usual, it seemed. Dick then leaned up and gently pressed his lips to Jason’s.

Immediately, Jason’s hands went to Dick’s waist, and he pulled him in, kissing him harder. Dick did not protest. His uninjured arm wound up hooked around Jason’s neck, pulling him down, mashing their lips together even more.

Dick could not explain the roaring thirst that suddenly reared up in him. His every thought was suddenly narrowed down to just _Jason_. His knees felt weak, and he completely forgot about his new “injuries”. Until he tried to hook his other arm around Jason’s neck as well.

He let out a muffled gasp of pain, and Jason immediately pulled back. “Shit, did I hit you?”

Dick did not let him back up much. “No, no,” he said, breathless. “I just… forgot about it. I’m fine, Jay.” He tried to kiss Jason again. He needed to kiss Jason again.

But Jason pushed him back. “No, Dickie, you should- you should get going.”

Dick wanted to protest. He wanted to push Jason backwards onto the bed, where they could just make out all day, and cuddle up against each other all night.

But he swallowed and nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Okay.” He took a step towards the door. Jason just stared at him. Dick took another step towards the open door, where he could now actually see all the way down the hall. “Bye, Jason.”

Jason sat down heavily on the bed, not looking at Dick. “Bye, Dickie,” he said.

Dick gave him a minute nod, then walked out of the room. He found the stairs, and made his way down the stairs. Dick paused at the bottom of the steps, looking around. The living room was on his left, and next to it, the kitchen. The rooms were very neat and inviting. Dick put his hand on the handle of the front door. It was unlocked.

Dick took a deep breath, glancing back up at the stairs, hoping to see Jason standing at the top. He was not there.

Dick opened the door, squinting at the bright sunlight. He could call for help right now. Jason would have nowhere to run.

But Dick did not do that. He stepped out of the house and closed the door firmly behind him.

~

A week and two days later, Dick returned.

He parked farther down the street, and he walked up towards Jason’s house. The entire street was dark. Dick shivered and drew his jacket around himself tighter. As he walked up the driveway to the house, his heart started beating faster.

It had only been a week and two days, but to Dick, it felt like forever. He could not explain why he felt like that. No, he _could_ explain it, but he could not justify it to himself. Dick glanced up at the house, a small smile on his face. He was filled with a sense of excitement about seeing Jason again.

The house was dark. The curtains were drawn, and it looked like no one was inside. Dick approached the front door and knocked quietly. He looked up and down the street, shivering slightly. Dick was the only one awake at this time of night. He was thankful for that because it would be very suspicious if one of Jason’s human neighbors saw some random person visiting him at 2 AM.

No one answered the door. Dick frowned slightly. Was Jason out? That might have been the case. There was no way he could not hear Dick with those supernatural hearing abilities after all.

He pulled the key Jason gave him out of his pocket and inserted it into the lock. The door opened silently and Dick went inside.

He closed the door quietly behind him. “Jay?” he called softly. “Are you here?”

There was no response. The entire house was dark, and it smelled a bit dusty in there. Which was really weird, because Dick was pretty sure Jason was a complete neat freak.

Dick flicked on a couple lights in the living room, and he searched through all the rooms in the downstairs area. Maybe he did go out. Probably to eat. Dick pressed his lips together. He hoped that Jason was sticking to his promise and did not drain people completely. Well, the GCPD had not found any bodies, so he supposed Jason did keep his promise. Or he got better at hiding the corpses. Dick shook himself. He had to give Jason the benefit of the doubt.

Dick made his way upstairs.

The second floor was a completely different story. The runner that stretched from the stairway down the hall was messed up in several places. Dick knelt to straighten it, and he spotted a dark red splotch on the cream carpet. Dick reached out and brushed his fingers over the spot. He rubbed his fingers over the runner, and bits of red dust came off on his fingers. Dried blood.

Frowning deeper, Dick followed the trail of blood down the hall to the bathroom. He gasped when he flicked the light on. While it was not as bad as he thought it would be (he was expecting a dead human body), but it was grotesque. Bloody handprints covered the walls, spots and small pools of blood all around sink, the ground, and all over the toilet bowl. It looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

The blood was not fresh, dried to the point where it crumbled when Dick touched it. So it had been a while ago, but why had Jason just left it there? He had been careful about cleaning up the evidence before, so why leave all this now? Not to mention, Jason loved cleanliness. He would not be able to _stand_ the sight of the bathroom.

A cold dread filled Dick, shaking him to the bones. What if it was not Jason that left this? The bloody handprint on the wall did make it look like there was a struggle, and something was dragged away. Dick’s heartbeat sped up. Jason did mention that his old clan would be after him, did he not? Dick felt like throwing up.

He ran out of the bathroom, checking the other bedrooms in the hallway. Each one was as empty as the others. When Dick reached the last room, the one he had been locked in, he was nearly sobbing. Jason could not be gone. He _had_ to be here! He promised to stay here and wait for Dick to come back. Dick could not lose him now. He had just figured out his feelings, and he had finally worked up the courage to confess to Jason. He cannot be gone now.

Dick fumbled with the lock on the door, and finally pushed it open. It was pitch black in the room, and Dick knew that there was no light switch. But by the smell that hit him, he did not need one. The room reeked of death, and Dick wanted to throw up because of it. But he fell to his knees, instead, unable to keep the tears back. He sobbed aloud.

This could not be happening.

Just then, something flew out of the darkness and smacked Dick straight in his tear-stained face. He was so shocked he choked on his tears. It was a pillow.

“Damn hallucinations,” came an angry growl from the depths of the darkness. “Can’t anyone die in peace?”

Jason’s voice. It distorted and raspy, but it was _Jason’s_ voice. Dick scrambled to his feet and stumbled forward towards the sound. “Jay, Jay, it’s me,” Dick said. “Where are you?! What happened? I saw the-”

He was cut off when he was tackled to the ground, pinned down by a looming shadow with red eyes. “Why haven’t you gone away yet?” Jason growled.

“Wh-What?” Dick asked in confusion. “Jay, it’s me!” He pushed back against Jason, and to his surprise, he managed to throw him off and smacked Jason across the face on accident. Jason’s eyes narrowed, and Dick could see the vague outline of hand nursing a cheek.

“ You’re real?” Jason asked, his voice hoarse.

“Yes, I’m real!” Dick exclaimed. “What did you think? What happened to you? Did you lock yourself in here on accident?” he asked, hurrying over and kneeling in front of Jason. He put a hand on either side of Jason’s face. He gasped softly. “You’re… _burning_ up! Are you sick?”

Jason put a hand on top of Dick’s. His hand was also burning hot. “No, Dickie,” he said quietly. “ _Dying_.”

Dick let out a choked sound. “H-How? You were fine when I left a week ago!”

Jason let out a dry chuckle. “I don’t know,” he said. Then, he coughed, his body shaking heavily with the effort. When Jason brought his hand away from his mouth, it was covered in blood. He just sighed and wiped it carelessly on the ground.

“J-Jay…” Dick said slowly, his wide eyes staring at the smear of blood. His eyes filled with tears again.

“S’okay, Dickie,” Jason assured. He laughed a little again. “Wasn’t planning for you to see me like this at all. Thought I’d be long dead when you remembered to come by again. _If_ you came by again.”

Dick’s hands trembled. He pressed them against Jason’s burning skin harder. “You didn’t think I would come back? You were planning for me to see your _dead body_ when I most definitely returned to check on you? _Why, Jason?_ ”

“Oh, my sweet Dickie. Because I’m me, and you’re you. There’s nothing else to it. Hey, hey, don’t cry. It’ll be alright.”

Dick slid his hand out from under Jason’s. He pushed his wrist towards Jason’s lips. “Drink,” he commanded desperately.

Jason leaned away, pushing Dick’s wrist down. “No, I can’t.”

“You’re _dying_ , drink!” Dick insisted, fighting Jason. Jason was too weak to fight back. “Stop being a stupid bastard and save yourself!”

Jason just smiled sadly. “That’s the problem, Dickie. I tried. Didn’t work out.”

“What are you talking about, Jay?” Dick sobbed. He was terrified and confused.

“You saw all the blood. I can’t… I can’t drink blood anymore. My body just rejects it. I can’t eat normal food either,” Jason explained. “It’s probably some stupid vampire curse I was never told about, honestly.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. Then, he reached out with his hand and pulled Dick in a bit by the back of his neck. Their foreheads touched, and Dick could feel Jason’s breath on his lips. “I personally think it’s because I dared to drink from someone as good and as pure as you.”

Dick let out a soft sob. “Just try one more time,” he pleaded in a whisper. “One more time. Please.”

Dick pressed his wrist up against Jason’s lips again. He felt Jason press his lips together tightly, as if refusing to.

“Please…” he begged.

Jason’s lips relaxed and he opened his mouth. Dick felt the prick of a row of needle-like teeth. He let out a soft cry when Jason bit down, immediately followed by the rush of pleasure. It was just as good as Dick remembered. He threaded his other hand through Jason’s hair, locking his fingers in them.

Jason drank and drank, and Dick could feel the continuous swallows of his throat. Dick opened his eyes and watched in wonder as the red drained from Jason’s eyes and they became the dark blue Dick had come to love.

Dick started feeling lightheaded, so he let go of Jason’s hair and pressed his lips to his forehead. “Jason,” he gasped out. “I think… I think you need to stop now.”

Jason pulled away immediately. He licked his lips a couple times and retracted his fangs. His eyes were wide as he stared at Dick.

Dick gave him a tired smile. “Feeling better?” he asked breathlessly.

Jason nodded mutely. He suddenly reached out and roughly pulled Dick in, holding him tightly to his chest. Dick was surprised by this movement and laughed softly as he tried to hug Jason back with his arms trapped at his sides.

“Dickie,” Jason whispered. “You…”

“Hm?” Dick asked. He should have brought some snacks or something…

“It’s you,” Jason said, his voice muffled in Dick’s shoulder. His arms tightened around Dick’s body, and Dick could already feel the strength returning to Jason. “I knew it, I knew it, but I wouldn’t let myself believe it.”

“Knew what, Jay?” Dick asked. He grunted softly as Jason’s arms tightened a bit more. “Let me go, maybe? We can… talk better… when I can breathe,” Dick said.

Jason relaxed, but he did not let go of Dick. “I’m never letting you go,” Jason said, pressing kisses to Dick’s neck and under his jaw. “Never again.”

“Okay,” Dick laughed. “That’s fine with me, but… I’m still really confused here.” He yawned. “On second thought, explain to me after I take a nap.”

Jason held him until he fell asleep, murmuring sweet nothings into his ear the whole time.

Dick woke up around late morning a handful of hours later. He blinked and looked around. He was lying on the couch in the living room of Jason’s house, pillows piled around his head, and a blanket tucked neatly under his chin. He sat up and stretched, yawning loudly. He still felt very tired, but more like he had no energy than sleepy.

A few moments later, Jason poked his head in from the kitchen. “Oh, you’re awake,” he said with a smile. Dick smiled back. Jason also looked a lot better. He had cleaned all the blood off himself, showered and changed. Dick made grabby hands at the food Jason carried.

Jason snorted and set the food down on the coffee table. Dick swung his legs over, taking down the blanket with him, and reached for the sandwich. Jason sat next to him, patiently picking up the two pillows that Dick pushed off the couch.

“How’re you feeling?” Dick asked around a mouthful of whatever was in the sandwich. He did not bother to check.

Jason grinned contently. “Much better.”

“So you going to tell me what happened in the one week I was gone?” Dick asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Not particularly, but I think you’ll be more upset if I didn’t tell you,” Jason sighed. He hugged a pillow to his chest. Dick felt oddly jealous of that pillow. “I was… upset when you left,” Jason said slowly. “And even though you promised you’d be back soon, it felt like you were walking away forever.

“So the first couple days, I moped around here. Then, I had to eat, so I went out, picked up some guy that was following a group of teens and did my usual thing. And I kept my promise by the way, I didn’t suck him dry,” Jason said. His eyebrows furrowed. “But I knew there was something wrong. His blood tasted bad, like really bad. I mean, blood tastes like, you know, blood – metallic and all. But there are also varying degrees to that. Drinking that man’s blood made me feel like I was chewing on a solid iron brick that I dug out of the Dumpster or something. I ignored it because I thought he was just… worse than other people, so it affect his blood.”

“But it wasn’t,” Dick said. “What was it?”

Jason shrugged. “I didn’t know. Well, I still don’t know, but I have a theory. I’ll tell you later. Anyway, came home, managed to make it upstairs, threw my guts up all over the bathroom, and I couldn’t stop it either. It got to the point where it wasn’t even that man’s blood I was throwing up anymore, but my own. Needless to say, it was a huge mess. Next night, I had stopped throwing up on a regular basis, and I was feeling rather weak, so I decided to go out again.”

Jason sighed heavily, looking up at the ceiling. He clutched the pillow harder. “Rinse and repeat. That woman I picked up, her blood tasted worse than that man’s. I threw up almost immediately, all over her. I got back home without being seen, just barely. It was to the point where I couldn’t even walk properly anymore.” He grimaced. “Are you sure you want to keep hearing this? It’s not a pretty story. Especially when you’re eating.”

Dick’s pointed look made Jason continue. “Anyway, I knew I was dying at that point. Didn’t know why, didn’t have anyone to call to ask for help or anything. So I just kind of… I dunno, resigned myself to my fate.”

“Just accept it?” Dick asked incredulously. “Why? You didn’t- You didn’t think something was really off about it?”

“I did think something was suspicious,” Jason said. “But I didn’t care anymore.” He looked down at his hands, which were now crushing the pillow. Dick could see it slowly tearing at the seams. “You left, and I thought you weren’t coming back. That- That thought hurt so bad, Dickie, I didn’t care about anything else.”

“So you purposely locked yourself in that room…” Dick said, understanding. “Jay…”

“The bed smelled like you, and everything there just reminded me of you, okay? Call me pathetic, I don’t care, but that’s the reason. Then, I just… waited to die. And I’m pretty sure I would have died if you didn’t show up,” Jason said. “I had hallucinations a few times before you came, and they were all of you, so I assumed you were just another hallucination,” he finished weakly.

Dick put his sandwich down and scooted towards Jason. He pried the pillow from Jason’s hands and tossed it over his shoulder.

“That was my pillow,” Jason grumbled, his arms automatically going around Dick. Dick turned Jason’s head up to face up, brushing his hand through Jason’s hair, looking deep into the eyes the color of the ocean at night.

“I’m sorry I took so long to come back,” Dick murmured, stroking through Jason’s hair. “I was… thinking through some things of my own. And I finally reached a conclusion.”

“Yeah, and what is that?”

“I love you, Jay. I don’t care that you’re a vampire, I don’t care about all the things that make us different because you make me feel at home, and you make me feel safe. That’s all I want,” Dick said softly. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to provide everything that you’ll ever want or need, but I’ll be here for as long as you want me to be.”

Jason took an unsteady breath. “Dickie, you are everything I’ll ever want or need. Because you know what? Last night, when you begged me to drink, I was disgusted at the thought of ever ingesting another drop of blood again because of how it started tasting. But I thought, ‘I can’t die knowing I disappointed my mate like that. Even if it means that I will die retching my last breath of life out of me, I’ll do it’. And _fuck_ , am I glad I did. Dickie, you were the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted in my entire life.”

Dick’s eyes were wide. He was not sure if he was breathing or not. “Mate?” he breathed out, barely audible.

Of course, Jason caught it. He smiled. “That’s you. You’re mine, Dickie, and you always have been. I’ve been searching for you for so long now, and I should have known from that very first moment I tasted you. It felt like I opened my eyes for the first time, and the world was glorious. _You_ were glorious.”

Dick stared at Jason for a second longer before lunging forward and capturing his lips in a kiss. Dick felt like he was a starved man, even though physically he was still pretty hungry. But right now, he wanted Jason. He needed Jason.

Because Jason also needed him.

And like his mate said, what a glorious thing that was.

~

**_SOME TIME LATER_ **

“Hey, Dickie,” came Jason’s voice as he melted out of the shadows from behind where Dick was crouched, spying on an exchange of information.

Dick nearly jumped out of his skin, losing his balance and falling backwards off the roof. But Jason was there to catch him and help him up again.

Dick glared at Jason. “What the fuck was that for?” he hissed as loudly as he dared. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

Jason gave him a smirk. “Sorry, babe.” He tossed something at Dick. Dick caught it and frowned.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“A lug wrench,” Jason said simply, stooping down beside Dick and watching the exchange go down in the alley below them.

“Yeah, I know that,” Dick said irritably. “But why?”

“Oh, it’s the evidence. Get rid of it,” Jason said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Ooh, at midnight? Hear that, Dickhead? Something’s happening at midnight.”

Dick rolled his eyes. He already got that information. As far as he could tell, there was nothing new being passed on here that he did not already know. “Did you _kill_ someone with it?” he asked Jason, pressing for more information. He really hated how Jason only gave the bare minimum. But Jason only did it because it annoyed Dick to no end.

“No,” Jason said. “Hm, maybe that would have been a good idea. Piss him off more.”

“Jason…” Dick warned. “Killing someone is _never_ a good idea, and _who_ exactly are you trying to piss off?”

There was a flutter from behind them, Dick turned.

“Him,” Jason answered, standing.

From out of the black shadows came Batman, the lower part of his face twisted in a scowl.

“It was him,” Jason immediately said, pointing to Dick.

Dick glared at Jason. “What?! I don’t even know what you did! I swear I did not do anything,” he said to Batman.

The Bat said nothing. His jaw tightened obviously. “Where are my tires?” he finally gritted out.

“Tires?” Dick echoed, baffled beyond explanation. “What tires?”

“I don’t know,” Jason said. “Must’ve… rolled away.” He mimicked the tires rolling away down the street.

Batman growled menacingly.

“You don’t scare me,” Jason scoffed.

“Jay…” Dick warned. He did not feel like getting into a fight today. He did not feel like getting between a fight today. He did not feel like patching up his boyfriend because he pissed off the scary protector of Gotham today. He did not have the blood or energy to spare.

“Oh, you’re such a spoilsport, Dickie,” Jason said. “I left them in the Dumpster two streets over, okay? Which street, find out yourself. I’m leaving.” Jason stepped up onto the ledge of the building. He tossed another look over his shoulder. “Don’t hurt him,” he said, pointing to Dick. Then, he was gone.

Dick suddenly felt a lot more timid alone facing Batman. But Batman did not make a move to punch him. Which was a good thing, since Dick never pitied those who ended up on the other side of those punches.

“Dick Grayson, am I right?” Batman asked in a slow, almost thoughtful voice.

“Er, yes, sir,” Dick said. He put his hands behind his back, hoping Batman did not notice him shaking.

The Bat was silent for another few beats. “I have heard a lot about you. From Gordon. And others.”

Dick did not know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He especially did not want to make a bad impression on Batman.

“And that was… the vampire, yes?” Batman asked. The white lenses of his mask narrowed slightly.

“He’s not bad,” Dick blurted out. “He’s not killing people anymore, and I know he jokes about it, but he’s not serious, I promise, so please don’t- don’t…” he trailed off.

“Don’t what?”  Batman asked, sounding a touch amused. “Don’t hurt your boyfriend?”

Dick went red, and he looked down.

“Hm,” was all that Batman said. When Dick looked up again, the Bat was gone.

~

“Dickhead! I brought you lunch!”

Dick groaned from his cubicle, ducking his head down to hide as every single one of his co-workers turned to see who just shouted at Dick from across the entire room.

Jason stood leaning against the doorway, smirking. When Dick raised his head and met his eyes, Jason raised a hand and gave his fingers a little wiggle.

Dick gave him a weak smile back. Jason headed over, completely aware that Dick’s colleagues were still watching them.

“How’s work going?” Jason asked, sitting down on Dick’s desk. “Boring? I know, poor darling,” he cooed, reaching forward and sandwiching Dick’s cheeks between his large hands and squishing his cheeks together. Dick’s glare became less effective like that. “How about I join you for lunch?” Jason asked. “I brought enough for two.”

“How about you leave me alone and stop stopping by every day,” Dick said, pulling his face from Jason’s hands. “You’re ruining my reputation,” he said in a lower voice.

“How so?” Jason asked. “Me being here doesn’t make you a bad cop, does it?”

“No, I meant, the interns are starting to ask questions!” he hissed.

“Like what questions?” Jason pressed with a smirk.

Dick squirmed a bit under Jason’s sharp gaze. “Y’know… like- like when we’re going to get married, or… what we plan on naming out kids- It’s just embarrassing, okay?!” He buried his face in his hands.

Jason laughed. “Aw, you’re embarrassed of me? Maybe we should just break up, and I’ll go find myself someone else-”

“No!” Dick cut in loudly. Some heads turned towards them again. “No,” he said a bit softer, flaring red again. “Don’t- Don’t do that either.”

Jason smiled. “’Course I won’t, Dickie,” he promised. “Can’t go back on my promise not to feed from others anymore, right?” He put a hand on Dick’s head.

Dick sighed, looking up at Jason. “You know it’s much more than that,” he said seriously.

Jason’s gentle smile told him that he did know. “So, you still haven’t told me what you plan on doing for our lunch date.”

“Oh, are the two of you going to lunch together?” came a new voice. Dick turned and Jason looked up.

Dick’s eyebrows shot up and his jaw nearly dropped open. Jason just arched a brow. Standing in the middle of their floor, dressed impeccably for a visit to the police station, was Bruce Wayne. Commissioner Gordon stood behind him, looking slightly annoyed.

“Er, yeah, I guess,” Dick said slowly.

“Pity,” Wayne sighed loudly. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to join me for lunch.

Jason stood, a frown on his face now. “Hey-”

“I wanted to get to know the outstanding Officer Grayson myself, of course,” Wayne smiled. “Commish has told me a lot about you.” He looked over at Jason, not at all fazed by his threatening stance. “Of course, your boyfriend is more than welcome to come with. But since you guys have a _date_ planned…” he trailed off.

Dick relaxed a bit. He was not expecting Bruce Wayne of all people to invite _him_ out to lunch. Thankfully, it looked like it was just a close call.

“How about dinner instead?” Wayne finished, handing Dick a business card. Dick took it slowly. “My personal number’s on the back,” Wayne continued. “Are you busy tonight? Because you and your boyfriend – what’s your name? – should come over for dinner at the Manor tonight. My butler can make a hell of a good plate of lamb chops. I wish to personally extend my thanks for all you’ve done for the city. Me, all I can do is donate money to fix up whatever’s been destroyed, but that only goes so far,” he said with a laugh.

He clapped Dick on the shoulder hard, then gave Jason a firm nod before walked out of the office. Commissioner Gordon grunted when he left.

“That man just likes hearing himself talk,” he said. He nodded at the business card in Dick’s hands. “But you should take him up on his offer. Suffer through one dinner and you’ll be set for life.”

Dick stared down at the card. On the back, another phone number was scribbled on there. “I… I can’t take this, Commissioner,” he said. “I feel like I’m cheating.”

Gordon just grunted again. “In this city, you don’t make it unless you play a little dirty, Grayson.”

Dick stared back down at the card. Something inside him told him he should call that number. “Do you think I should go?” he asked Jason.

“Not without me, you’re not,” Jason growled. “I don’t trust that old man.”

Dick laughed. “He’s like in his late thirties. You’re what? Fifty times his age?”

Jason did not answer. “He just… smelled funny.”

Dick gave Jason a weird look and laughed. “Right.”

~

**_Six Months Later_ **

“Jason!” Dick yelped when he walked into the cave. “What the hell do you think you’re drinking?!”

He stomped over and snatched the bag out of Jason’s hands. Jason glared up at him. “Hey,” he said. “Don’t just take, Dickiebird.”

“Jason,” Dick said in a low, slightly threatening voice. “Where did you get this? I swear if you robbed a blood bank-”

“Calm down, Dickhead,” Jason said with a roll of his eyes. “It’s not real blood. It’s a look alike.” He smirked. “Lots of syrup and a bit of food coloring, some alcohol.”

“And why do you feel the need to drink copious amounts of sugar in the middle of the night before patrol?” Dick asked in an exasperated voice.

Jason rolled his eyes. “I drank a tiny bit. It tastes disgusting, if you actually want to know. But I thought it was the old man who was coming down here next, not you.”

“I don’t understand why you feel the need to piss Bruce off,” Dick said.

“Because he’s so _boring_. He’s stoic and emotionless. It’s like he’s dead inside. More than I am,” Jason said, mimicking Bruce’s stone cold poker face. “’My name is Bruce Wayne, and I have no emotions whatsoever besides the burning, OCD need to fix everything wrong with this already damned city. In other words, I am completely useless.”

“Jay,” Dick said, biting back a laugh.

“What? It’s true,” Jason said. He tossed the bag of fake blood aside. “How was work?” he asked. He opened his arms and Dick stepped into them happily, wrapping his arms around Jason’s waist.

“Got two officers fired today,” Dick said. He took a deep breath, breathing in Jason’s scent. “Found a missing kid,  went to lunch with Babs-”

“Gordon’s kid?” Jason asked sharply.

“His _daughter_ , who happens to be a year older than me, yes,” Dick said. “We just went to _Antonio’s_ down the street-”

“Alone? Together?”

Dick frowned, pulling back a bit. “It wasn’t a date. You don’t have to be jealous of all my friends,” Dick said.

Jason pouted. “Oh, yeah? While I’m stuck in here all damn day, you’re out on lunch dates with pretty redheads, and you’re asking me not to be jealous?”

Dick sighed. “You’re not confined to the cave, you know. Bruce doesn’t have you locked in here.”

“He probably wants to,” Jason said sullenly. “You know he doesn’t quite trust me.”

“Jason, trust is something you have to work for. If you show him you’re serious, I’m sure he’ll trust you!”

“Have I not been serious?”

Dick tossed a glance at the bag of fake blood and raised his eyebrows.

“Okay, fine,” Jason said. “Maybe I can get a bit more serious. But you’re changing the subject. I want to go out on dates with you, too. Dick, I want a _normal_ relationship with you.”

“There’s not normal in our relationship, Jay.”

“There could be. On top of the fact that I’m a vampire, on top of the fact that I live off your blood on a daily basis, on top of the fact that you can draw from my powers, on top of the fact that you’re Nightwing and I’m Red Hood, and all the other tons of abnormal aspects of our relationship. We can go on dates, kiss under the stars, go camping together or whatever cliché things other _normal_ couples do,” Jason said. Then he frowned. “Right?” He sounded a bit unsure of himself now.

It took a moment for Dick to realize that Jason was actually serious. He could not help but smile. “Of course, Jaybird.” He pressed into the hug again. “God, yes, I want all of that with you.” He shoved his face deeper into the crook of Jason’s neck. “Only with you, no one else.”

“Yeah,” Jason croaked softly. “Me too.”

There was a clearing of the throat from behind them. Bruce made his way down the metal steps slowly.

“Dick,” he said slowly. “You’re supposed to be on patrol now.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dick said. “Just stopped for a few words with Jay. Going now.” He gave Jason a quick peck on the cheek before running off to change.”

Bruce gave Jason a once over. “Are you planning on going out tonight, too?” he asked.

Jason raised an eyebrow cryptically. “Are you letting me?”

Bruce gave him a blank look. “You are an adult. You can make your own choices.”

“I sense there’s something more to it,” Jason muttered. More loudly, “You’ll probably have some sort of tracker on me if I do go out, won’t you?”

Bruce gave no answer.

“Right,” Jason snorted. “Look, old man, if you didn’t want me here in the first place, fine. I’ll fuck off.”

“Jason,” Bruce said slowly. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I do. I trust that you can control yourself and that you know right from wrong. But I do not know if I can trust the power you wield. You cannot abuse your powers if you are going to do this.”

“What? No super speed or super strength?” Jason asked sarcastically. “Guess that Superman’s pretty useless in your Justice Club.”

“I’m not saying that,” Bruce said patiently. “Use them. I encourage you to do so, but only for the right things. Jason, I think sometimes you forget that you _can_ still die.”

“I’m already dead,” Jason said sardonically.

“You know what I mean.”

“At least you never fail to remind me.”

Bruce went silent. He stared at Jason contemplating for a few more seconds. “Go out on patrol,” he said. “Just don’t distract Nightwing.”

Jason stared at him for a few seconds. “You’re serious?” he asked.

Bruce nodded.

Jason could not help but burst into a grin. He dashed off after Dick before Bruce could get another word in.

Not that Bruce needed to. After all, they would take care of each other. Bruce already knew that.


End file.
